Imperial forums

The Imperial Fora (Fori Imperiali in Italian) are a series of monumental fora (public squares), constructed in Rome over a period of one and a half centuries, between 46 BC and 113 AD. The forums were the center of the Roman Republic and of the Roman Empire.

The Imperial forums, while not part of the Roman Forum, are located relatively close to each other. Julius Caesar was the first to build in this section of Rome and rearranged both the Forum and the Comitium, another forum type space designated for politics, to do so. These forums were the centres of politics, religion and economy in the ancient Roman Empire.

During the early 20th century, Mussolini restored the Imperial Fora as part of his campaign to evoke and emulate the past glories of Ancient Rome. But he also built the Via dei Fori Imperiali across the middle of the site, supposedly in order that he could see the Colosseum from his office window. The modern street and its heavy traffic has proved a source of damage to the buildings because of vibration and pollution. There have been a number of proposals to remove the road, but none have taken effect.

Julius Caesar decided to construct a large forum bearing his name. This forum was inaugurated in 46 BC, although it was probably incomplete at this time and was finished later by Augustus.

The Forum of Caesar was constructed as an extension to the Roman Forum. The Forum was used as a replacement venue to the Roman Forum for public affairs as well as government; it was also designed as a celebration of Caesar's power. Caesar had placed, on the front of his forum, a temple devoted to Venus Genetrix, since Caesar's family (gens Julia) claimed to descend by Venus through Aeneas. A statue of Caesar himself riding Bucephalus, the celebrated horse of Alexander the Great, was placed in front of the temple, to symbolise absolute power. This centralised vision corresponded to the ideological function, following the propaganda of the Hellenistic sanctuaries; also the choice of the Forum site carried a meaning: the future dictator didn't want to be far from the central power, represented in the Curia, seat of the Senate. In fact, not long before Caesar's death, the Senate agreed to reconstruct the Curia on the site.

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